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We come to terms with ourselves \u2013 with all that we have gained and lost, learned and become.<\/b><\/p>\n
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Living Clean, Chapter 1, \u201cA Vision of Hope\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
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WHO AM I;<\/p>\n
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As cliche and soul-crushing as this question may seem, many of us can relate to the fact that we've asked it \u2013 and don't know the answer. Or, more precisely, we didn't want to know.<\/p>\n
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In active addiction, many of us could have answered the question as follows: "Whoever you want me to be, baby."<\/p>\n
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And as soon as we cleared, the "No one!" might have been the most appropriate response, considering the shame we felt and how invisible we wanted to be at gatherings.<\/p>\n
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Denial prevented us from accepting the truth of our actions and the impact they had on ourselves and the people we love. Many of us have paid the price for this lack of self-awareness by losing relationships, careers, possessions, and even our freedom.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The process of recovery allows us to begin to reflect on our true identity, and it takes as much honesty as we can muster, along with a healthy dose of courage and humility. We learn to accept the fact that we have caused pain and trauma, harmed ourselves and others, while on our destructive paths. We also learn to accept that we are not the sum of these actions.<\/p>\n
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Recovery gives us the opportunity to use the hardships we have endured to help others. We reveal our deep personal difficulties \u2013 those from the past and those that will inevitably arise while we are clean \u2013 in order to deepen our relationships with other addicts. In this way, we show our fraternity members that we can stay clean \u2013 no matter what.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Today I try to accept who I am, what it took to get here and where I am now. I am not defined by my past. Instead, I will use it as a tool to help others.<\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-12173","spad","type-spad","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/spad\/12173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/spad"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/spad"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}